Published: Dec 27, 2015, 08:46 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 27, 2015, 08:50 AM (IST)
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer expressed disappointment over the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) snubbing him of a the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. Engineer, who represented India in 46 Tests between 1961 and 1975, has been ignored by the Indian board for the award in favour of Syed Kirmani, the most successful Indian wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni. Engineer reportedly did not hold a grudge against Kirmani, though he felt that he should have been given more importance by the board due to his seniority. Along with S. Abid Ali, Engineer is currently the only member of the Indian playing eleven that defeated England at the Oval in 1971. READ: Farokh Engineer misses out on BCCI annual awards 2014 due to injured shoulder
“I am happy for my buddy Kiri, but I would be lying if I said I am not disappointed. I am very disappointed because there should have been some importance given to seniority. It feels awful when you get ignored by your country like this,” Engineer was quoted as saying according to a report on Mid-day.
A press release on BCCI’s official website credits Kirmani’s achievement of having kept wickets on the turning sub-continental tracks for the award.
“Keeping wickets on sub-continent tracks where the ball spins, bounces and even keeps low at times is one of the most difficult tasks in world cricket. Syed Kirmani kept wickets against India’s famous spin quartet and did the job remarkably well,” read the release on bcci.tv.
It is interesting to note that both Kirmani and Engineer kept wickets against the bowling of the spin quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkatraghavan.
